


Glass House

by VeraBlackthorne



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-08-25
Packaged: 2018-12-03 08:43:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11528688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeraBlackthorne/pseuds/VeraBlackthorne
Summary: Alice Cullen has been having strange visions for the last 18 years.The family, although confused at the situation, soon became attached to the girl they watched grow up. That was, until the visions suddenly stopped. Worried but with no way of helping the girl, they continued on with their lives.That was, until Hari Potter moved to Forks, Washington and secrets came out to play.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, everyone!  
> This has already been posted on fanfiction.net, but I thought i'd chuck it on here as well, so, enjoy!!

**Hari**

Hari couldn't breathe.

Every second she spent in this cramped storage room sent her closer and closer to the point of passing out from hyperventilation. She would take the claustrophobia any day, though, over what awaited her out there.

Many would see her hiding as overreacting, cowardice, humorous, even. They didn't understand, though. After years of being constantly ripped to shreds and subsequently praised again, over and over again by the media, she had finally reached her limit.

The war had officially ended only a week ago, with the death of Voldemort bringing the fighting to a standstill.  _One week_ was all the time that it had taken for the entirety of wizarding Britain to mourn the dead and celebrate the living before going back to their usual ways. It seemed that after they had time to think things through, the wizarding world was once again divided- this time over her.

Half were furious and looking for somebody to blame- and who better than their resident 'Girl-Who-Lived'? After all, she had  _left them_  for almost a year instead of battling Voldemort outright. The other half, in her opinion, were worse, however. They seemed content to worship the very ground that she walked on, constantly hosting parties in her honour in the hopes that she would make an appearance.

What both halves seemed to have in common, over everything else, was to forget that she was an actual person in this whole mess. She had fought with them. She had cried with them.  _She had lost people too._  They all assumed that because she was the 'Great Hari Potter', the 'Girl-Who-Lived', the newly named 'Woman-Who-Conquered', that she wasn't subjected to these  _human_  fallacies.

This was what led to her hyperventilating inside of a storage closet just off of Diagon Alley.

She had gone to formally apologise to the Goblin race and pay for any and all damages that she and her friends had caused in their robbery. She was extremely anxious, not only because the goblins were known to be incredibly bloodthirsty creatures that valued their wealth over anything else- and she had  _stolen_  from them- but because this was her first public appearance after her defeat of Voldemort. Having camped out at Grimmauld Place for the entire week, not sleeping in fear of seeing her loved ones' faces in her dreams (not that it helped, as she was still seeing them in even the smallest of things), she hadn't been fully aware of just how bad the wizarding community would be. Nevertheless, she surprisingly got to Gringotts without hassle. The goblins were extremely forceful at first, bringing her at spear point to the Director of the bank, Ragnok. Astonishingly, though, they agreed to listen to her reasoning rather than ending her, then and there- it seemed that not even goblins were spared gratefulness from her defeat of the tyrant. She had decided that the only way that she could leave Gringotts alive (the goblins weren't  _that_ grateful) was to tell Ragnok the truth. The whole truth. Whilst Hari became increasingly more nervous as the Director became more furious, she continued on explaining what exactly she had stolen from the Lestrange vaults.

The goblins were no strangers to dark magic. In saying that, they understood exactly what she was saying when she uttered the word 'horcrux'. They were livid. The indignation that they had somehow had something  _that evil_ underneath their noses for who-knows-how-long had Ragnok shouting to control his goblins who were just about ready to go on the warpath, with Hari standing there meekly, hoping that their rage at  _her,_ at least, had subsided.

Thankfully for her, it had.

Of course, she would still be charged for the damage caused and  _obviously_  she would have to pay them for a new dragon, but she left as a friend to the goblin nation, and feeling as though something had finally gone right for the first time in years. She had also purchased a bag that linked directly to her account to save her from having to make back-and-forth trips to the bank, and she was extremely appreciative that the money came out in any currency that she wished. Overall, her trip to Gringotts was costly, even if it barely made a dent in her accounts, but she had left as a friend to the goblin nation, which was more than most witches or wizards could say.

That was where her good day had ended, however.

It only took one person to recognise her, before she was ambushed. Countless people swarmed to either hug her, shake her hand or spit malicious insults at her. due to the new security orders in place, she couldn't apparate out of the alley, leaving her to squeeze through a weeping man and his ecstatic wife. She bolted, attracting even more attention as she went. She turned the corner, whipped out her invisibility cloak that she now carried everywhere, and disappeared, entering the first door that she saw.

Here she was now.

Finally calming down, she made a decision. Hari knew that although things would calm down, they would eventually flare up again in an everlasting cycle of hero-worship and hatred. She could never truly  _live_  here, and if she was honest with herself, she never had.

Ron and Hermione would soon be exploring their tentative relationship, having children and moving on with their lives- they didn't need her anymore. Everybody would be moving on, and she would still be stuck here because since she was born, conflict, pain and war was all that she knew. Hari needed a break from England. She needed to be somewhere that nobody would recognise her, so she would have time to heal without the constant reminders that were dished out to her here. It was with that thought that she put her cloak back on and started the trek back to Grimmauld Place, taking the cloak off in a side alley outside of the Leaky Cauldron. Sure, she could have apparated as soon as she left the alley, but walking in the rain had always soothed her aching soul, and she needed some time to make a call before she would be unable to use her phone again.

Pulling out the new device, she scrolled through her meagre contact list until she reached the person she needed to speak to. The phone rang a few times before a gruff voice, groggy with sleep answered the phone, Hari cursing herself for forgetting the time difference.

"Hello?"

"U-uncle Charlie? It's Hari… Can- can I stay with you? Please?"


	2. Chapter Two

** Alice **

 

It started in 1980.

The Cullen family was enjoying their school holidays, and were getting ready to put on a movie. They had moved to Blairsville, Georgia two years previous, and had quickly fallen in love with it. The surrounding forests had plenty of wildlife for when they needed to hunt and the town itself was beautiful. Esme and Carlisle were due to renew their vows soon, and the small town would be the perfect place for it.

While Rosalie and Emmett were arguing between whether to watch Friday the 13th or Fame, Jasper and Carlisle were finishing off their game of chess, with Edward smirking at their thought processes throughout the game. Alice was sketching out some ideas for some new clothes, and had just about finished her dress before she was jerked unceremoniously into a vision, leaving a dark streak of ink across her page. The family stopped what they were doing immediately and looked at her, with Edward tuning into her thoughts to watch the vision with her.

 

_The first thing they saw was white. White walls, white floors and a bed with white sheets. As the vision came into focus, the next thing was a splash of fiery red against the bedsheets. It was a woman. She wasn’t the only figure in what they recognised as a hospital room (it was odd, however- where were the machines). There was a doctor, a nurse and another man clutching at the woman’s sweaty hand._

_“Come on, Lilyflower. One more push, darling. Just one more,” the man paused before smirking mischievously, “Come on, love- anyone would think you’re not trying.” ‘Lilyflower’ glared up at her husband._

_“How about you push, James. You did this to me, you arrogant sod! Now, shut up or get out!” James shrunk into himself for a moment, properly scolded, but his twinkling hazel eyes betrayed his amusement and worry for his wife. He opened his mouth, quite possibly to say something else, but was cut off by his wife’s pained shriek._

_“AHHH GODDAMN YOU, JAMES! IF YOU THINK I’M HAVING SEX WITH YOU AGAIN AFTER THIS YOU HAVE ANOTHER THING COMING- AHHH!” The redhaired woman slumped onto the bed, exhausted as the wail of the couple’s new-born baby filled the air. The two were silent for a moment, content to listen to the sound of the child they had brought into this world as it still cried, being cleaned up by the doctors._

_“Congratulations Mr and Mrs Potter. Here’s your new baby girl!” The doctor handed the girl to her mother, and it was then that they saw the child for the first time. She clearly took after her father, with her black hair (which there was a surprising amount of for a new-born) already sporting some faint curls._

_“She’s beautiful, James. She looks like you.” James couldn’t even bring himself to jest at how she inadvertently called him beautiful, and he would forever deny the tears in his eyes as he looked down at his child. “Do you want to hold her?” Lily giggled tiredly as James looked up at her panicked. As if reading his frantic thoughts, she soothed him, “Don’t worry, James. You could never hurt her, just make sure to support her head and you’ll be fine. Here, take her.” Lily passed the girl carefully into her husband’s slightly shaking arms, looking proudly at the two most important beings in her world._

_James cradled the now sleeping child in his arms, tears now freely falling from his eyes._

_“You are so beautiful. You know, I’m sure that when you grow up you’ll look exactly like your mother. Good for you, but bad for me, I know. Now, I want you to know that dating is off limits until you’re at least fifty, okay? Wait, make that ninety. Yeah, that’s about right. What do you say, cub?_

_You’re going to be the most beautiful girl in the world.” Lily watched on exhaustedly with a teary smile- who knew that her husband was such a sap? “You’re so loved… so loved, my darling Harielle.”_

Alice snapped out of her vision with a smile on her face. She let out an excited giggle before looking to Edward.

“She was so cute! Oh, I haven’t seen anything so adorable in _years_!” Edward chuckled at his sister’s antics whilst their family looked on in confusion, the movie all but forgotten.

“While I’m not going to deny how, uh, _cute_ , she was, why did you see it? I’ve never seen those people, they don’t have anything to do with us.” Alice frowned, obviously having not previously thought about that. As she was about to suggest a few ideas, Rosalie cut in.

“Care to inform the rest of us what’s going on? We don’t all have the ability to read minds, you know.” The other Cullen’s were obviously intrigued, although they weren’t as vocal about it as the blonde, content that Alice would eventually tell them.

“I had a vision. It wasn’t like the usual ones though, I mean, I didn’t know the people, and they were _British_ , like, wow. But they had a baby! She was so cute! I can already tell that she’ll be a looker! I mean, with parents like _those_ , who wouldn’t be! They- “Alice cut herself off when she saw that she had lost them. Edward decided to take over, otherwise they would probably be there all night.

“As Alice said, she had a vision. It entailed a couple who had just given birth to their first child- a girl named Harielle, if I’m not mistaken. I just don’t understand why she would have this particular vision. I’m quite sure that none of us has ever met the couple. It’s puzzling.” Carlisle frowned in bewilderment, before giving his input in the matter.

“Perhaps we should wait until something develops. It’s no use stressing over something until it comes to pass.” The rest of the family nodded in agreement- Carlisle always seemed to know best. “Now I believe we had a movie to watch, if we’ve finally come to a decision, Rosalie, Emmett?” His children nodded sheepishly, much to the amusement of the rest of the coven. With that, the family settled down to watch Fame (because as bulky as Emmett was, Rosalie clearly wore the pants in their relationship), the vision slipping from their minds.

 

Three months later, it was much the same.

The family was each off doing their own separate things throughout the house, when Alice slipped into a different vision.

The new family had obviously gone to their own home rather than the hospital. It was a nice, modest home, the pale-yellow walls lighting up the room the three were currently playing in. It was a heart-warming scene, as James tickled Harielle’s belly, only to have her let out a giggle. Alice came back to reality with a smile on her face as the new parents celebrated their baby girl’s first laugh.

Her own family was delighted at the news, and even though they were still puzzled about _why_ Alice was having the visions, they unanimously decided they couldn’t really do anything about it until they were potentially faced with a problem. For now, though, the Cullen’s were content to watch over the happy family as the visions came and went. 

 

 

 

A year later, the vampire family was shocked to find out via Alice that Harielle was laying, wrapped in a knitted blanket, asleep on a doorstep. Not only that, but the child had a strange cut on her forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt. James and Lily would never allow for their daughter to lay outside this close to winter. What on earth had happened?

The vampires had soon become attached to the Potter family, and to see the young girl in that state worried them quite a bit. And so, the Cullen’s waited with baited breath for Alice’s next vision, worried about the British family.

It came a few weeks later when the ‘kids’ of the Cullen family were at school. Alice, in mid-sentence, had stopped with a dazed look on her face. While the others made sure that nobody was looking over at their table, Edward tuned in to his sister’s thoughts. Minutes later, they both seemed to snap out of their daze. Without a word, they both stood up and stalked from the cafeteria, and Jasper could feel their rage even from across the parking lot.

The three remaining vampires hurried home after school, breaking countless road laws along the way. They entered the house to see the two sitting in a stony silence on the couch, with their parents staring at them worriedly. Without a word, the family congregated in the dining room and waited for either of the two to explain what Alice had seen.

“James and Lily are dead.” Edward’s blunt statement caused the coven’s eyes to widen. What on earth had happened? But… even though they were gone, that wouldn’t be enough to send the two level headed vampires into a rage. “I’m not sure how they died, but Harielle is living with Lily’s sister, along with her husband and son.” Edward broke off and collected himself, not wanting to keep speaking, but knowing that he had to. His family waited patiently, still caught in the shock of James and Lily’s deaths. “They… they put her in a cupboard. They have two spare rooms… and she got put underneath the stairs.”

There was a stunned silence, with each member of the coven processing the information that they were given. A loud growl reverberated throughout the room, making the occupants turn towards the usually docile vampire. To their surprise, it was Esme who was losing control of her nearly non-existent temper. Carlisle was quick to soothe his irate wife, embracing her and muttering calming words in her ear as she slowly calmed down.

“How… how on earth could they treat a _child_ like that? They have room… I don’t understand…” Esme shuddered at the mere thought of the dark cupboard that Harielle, who she now considered to be one of her own (despite never officially meeting her), was forced to live in. Her maternal instincts were rearing up, and she wanted to run to England and look after Harielle herself. They still had a house in England, and she could easily pick up work for herself.

“That won’t work, Esme,” Edward commented after hearing her thoughts, “The only thing that we know about her is her name; no address, postcode- nothing.” Seeing that his surrogate mother was about to interrupt him, he explained further. “Besides, how would we, a family of vampires, go about raising a child? I’m sorry, Esme, but we can’t do anything.” Esme nodded, still clearly upset- as was the rest of the family, but with nothing else they could do but to watch over their new (unknowing) family member, they set off to various parts of the house in the hope that they could distract themselves from their thoughts of the girl.

 

 

The years swept by, and in an instant, it seemed, Alice was jumping excitedly around the house exclaiming excitedly that Harielle was due to start her first day of primary school.

The visions had been sporadic throughout the last few years- sometimes they happened twice a day, but sometimes the family had to wait weeks for an update on the girl that they considered to be family.

Many of the scenes that they were gifted were simple, repetitive even- but they cherished each and every one of them. It was through these commonplace events that they discovered more about Harielle as her personality developed- she was incredibly smart for her age, and whenever she was out of the house, she was found in the library reading. Harielle had also inherited her mother’s temper, which although the Cullen’s found it adorable, the girl’s Aunt and Uncle didn’t. Harielle’s guardians were a constant source of rage for the vampire coven. The amount of times that Alice had seen them forcing the girl to do gruelling household chores sent their heads spinning- and that was just what they had _seen._ As rare as it was, Jasper was occasionally needed to calm the coven’s fury, and to stop them all storming down to England to rip their human’s relatives apart- though that didn’t mean that he was against the idea.

The family was no closer to finding out _why_ the seer was experiencing these visions, but they couldn’t bring themselves to care anymore, simply content to watch over Harielle.

 

And so, it continued; Harielle swiftly growing up, and the Cullen’s loving her more and more as each year passed.

Alice’s last vision had been months ago, and the family was growing worried. It had been Harielle’s pig cousin’s birthday, and as the pixie-like vampire watched as Hari realised that she was allowed to go to the zoo, she saw the joy in the girl’s eyes and had remembered feeling so ecstatic as the vision cut off just as they had left the house. That had been months ago, though, and she couldn’t help but wonder what had happened. It was during this thought process that she felt a vision on the edge of her mind. It was unlike her usual visions, however. This felt as if the scene was struggling to get into her sights- like it was being shielded from her. Edward was at her side in a moment, frowning in confusion at her thoughts. Before either got a chance to say anything, the vision finally reached her, and her face became dazed as she tuned in.

 

_“C’mon Hari! If we don’t hurry up we’ll be late!”_

_The shout came from an orange-haired boy with freckles that covered most of his face. He was pulling Harielle through a magnificent stone corridor, lit with torches. The girl in question looked the happiest that Alice had ever seen her, her viridian eyes lit up as bright as her grin as she hurried after her friend. Rushing after the two was another girl with brown bushy hair. She was beaming at the other two as if this was an unavoidable daily occurrence that she had grown fond of._

_The trio reached a large wooden door and pushed it open, stumbling through just in time to bump into a severe looking woman. It was then that Alice noticed that everyone in this scene was wearing some sort of robe, and she internally cringed in disgust. The older woman raised an eyebrow at the three, unimpressed, but the vampire could see an amused twinkle in her eyes._

_“And what is your excuse this time, Granger, Potter, Weasley? I hope it isn’t as ridiculous as last time- at least put some effort in.” Harielle, still grinning, went to retort until she was elbowed by the bushy haired girl._

_“Don’t, Hari! You know that only makes it worse! Besides, she was right! Do you really think that she’s going to believe that a ghost asked you for directions? The banshee excuse was bad enough, now let’s just sit down.” Harielle, properly scolded, ducked her head- although anyone could see her lips twitching and her shoulders shuddering with repressed giggles; and her friends weren’t much better. The redhead’s face had blossomed into a brilliant cherry colour as he tried to refrain from bursting out in laughter, and the other girl, despite her earlier scolding, was hiding her chuckles in her bushy hair._

_“A wise decision, I believe, Miss Granger. Now, I trust that you three can find your seats without further delay?” With that, the strict woman strolled to the desk in what Alice now recognised as a brilliant stone classroom, while the trio made their way to the only spare seats in the room._

Alice slowly came out of her vision with a smile.

Harielle had her first friends! And a new school, apparently. She looked so happy- so different compared to the thin, lifeless figure that she had been at her guardians’ house.

Alice couldn’t wait to share the amazing news with the rest of the family, and judging by Edward’s smile, he couldn’t either.

Alice had a feeling, as she and her brother left the room.

Things were changing, and considering how happy that Harielle had been in her vision, she assumed that they were for the best.

If only she knew.

 

 


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this important, guys!  
> So, I've made it so the Hogwarts wards are affecting Alice's visions. That is, while the wards don't completely stop the visions, they alter them, making it seem as though Hogwarts is just another boarding school, so THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT MAGIC!  
> Thanks!!!

** Alice **

In the past six years, Alice's visions had taken a strange turn.

Scenes involving Harielle were still coming frequently, but in the times that she was in boarding school, it seemed as though they were struggling to get through- as if the visions were blocked and had to fight their way into Alice's head. The family didn't understand why this happened, but as it only affected visions of Harielle's school rather than  _all_ of her visions, they elected to ignore it.

The Cullen's didn't know what made the girl's guardians ship their niece off to boarding school, but they were glad that they did. Alice saw that even as Harielle sat through her classes, there was a twinkle in her eye, and the vampire knew that she was cherishing every moment away from her horrid relatives. The vampires were ecstatic to see the girl's previously repressed personality flourish in the presence of her new friends- going from a stubborn, bookish, timid girl to an even  _more_  stubborn, mischievous book nerd. It was enriching to see the child that they had  _literally_  watched grow up turn into such a beautiful young woman.

In the past two years or so, though, the spark that had practically  _screamed_  'Hari' had gradually diminished. With every vision, the bags underneath Harielle's eyes seemed to grow bigger and darker, and the girl even appeared to have lost weight. The entire family grew worried as they began to hear more about terror attacks in England on the news, constantly fretting over their human's safety.

This last year in particular had been extremely concerning. Alice's visions had been infrequent, and when she finally had them, it was barely a glance- most of them had been of Harielle and her two friends, usually in an enclosed forested area. The vampire tried to look into the teenager's future, but I was as if she hit a wall of nothing, and sometimes she went an entire month without even a second's glimpse of Harielle.

One day, the visions stopped.

It wasn't the usual wait in-between visions that had regrettably become familiar to Alice. No, it was much worse.

The Cullen family had not long ago moved to Forks, Washington. No matter how many times the vampires came and left the small town, coming back always felt like home.

The females of the house were about to go hunting. It was one of the few sunny days that the small town got, and the town was under the illusion that the Cullen family was on a 'camping trip'. They had just reached the door when Alice's steps halted. Esme and Rosalie glanced eagerly over at the small vampire, hoping that they were to get an update on their human. The rest of the family was quick to join them, with Edward concentrating on his sister's thoughts as she blankly slipped into her vision.

_The vision, like it usually was when pertaining to Harielle, came through slowly. The vampire was momentarily relieved when it lasted longer than the usual glimpse, but her relief didn't last long. She was surrounded by another forest, except rather than the bright, lush forests that she had witnessed the trio in throughout the year, this one held an eerie darkness to it. It was as if the leaves brought forth tendrils of blackness that seeped inside of you, and right in the middle of it was Harielle. Alice withheld a shocked gasp at the sight of the teenager. Gone was the petite, curly haired cheeky girl, and in her place, was a gaunt, bloodied woman. Her clothes were ripped and covered in blood- most of it which seemed to be her own, stemming from the various gashes and wounds that littered her dirty skin. She had lost weight, her face looking haggard, as if she had missed out on too many meals as of late. It was her eyes, however, that hit Alice the hardest. The once vivid emerald orbs that sparkled with mischief were now dull and lifeless. They were the eyes of someone who had accepted their fate. They were the eyes of a dead woman walking._

_The vampire watched as Harielle walked calmly through the forest, somehow not stumbling nearly as much as she should have been. It was then that she noticed that the trees had opened up into a large clearing. There was a fire lit in the centre of the space, casting an ominous glow upon the many cloaked figures that had come to Alice's attention. It was odd- try as she might, the only face that she could get a clear view of was Harielle's and one other. The others were strangely blurred, as if she was seeing them through a haze, or a dirty window._

_The other was grotesque beyond all imagination. He was sickly pale- even by her standards, his nose was practically non-existent, appearing only as slits upon his face; his red eyes were reminiscent of a vampire's, but something about them was frightening. They looked as though they sucked the life from the world around them, the blood red irises glinting dangerously in the firelight. He looked like a snake, she realised belatedly before cursing herself for getting distracted as the man, with his eyes on the leaping flames held up a hand to silence one of the cloaked figures._

_"I expected her to come," he uttered in his high, cold voice. "I expected her to come." She watched as Harielle took off her own outer cloak, still apparently unnoticed by the group, how in which was lost on Alice- she was in plain sight. "I was, it seems… mistaken," the strange man commented softly. Harielle then stepped forward, determination shining brightly in her sunken orbs._

_"You weren't."_

_Harielle had said this loudly, appearing as though she had no fear, but the vampire could see the slight tremble to her hands and wondered- not for the first time- what was happening. Whatever it was, she decided, couldn't be good. In that moment, it was just the two of them, and she forgot entirely about the other occupants of the clearing, focusing only on Harielle and the serpentine man._

_Alice's vision seemed to flicker and darken for a moment, but she could hear commotion- it all seemed to blur together in a disorienting crowd of noise until she heard a loud voice shouting 'HARRY NO!', just as her vision came back into normality. For a moment, it looked as though nothing had changed, but looking closer she saw that the two figures had moved closer, with only the fire separating them. What the commotion was, she was unsure, her only focus being on the two forms in the heart of her vision._

_The man tilted his head to the side curiously, as if contemplating Harielle as she stared directly back into his red eyes, before uttering so softly that his voice might have been a part of the spitting fire._

_"Harielle Potter… the girl who lived…" The girl in question said nothing. She said nothing as he tilted his head at her, like a curious child. She still said nothing as he raised his hand, and Alice wanted to scream at the woman, to tell her to jump out of the way, but it was no use. Alice's vision jerked violently for a moment as a bright flash of sickly green light filled the scene. When she focused once more, she saw only one thing before she was brought crashing back to reality._

_That one thing was enough to break her._

_Alice let out a despairing shriek as Harielle's limp body filled her view, her lifeless emerald orbs burning holes into her mind._

_Harielle Potter was dead._

** Hari **

After three days of getting her affairs in order, Hari was finally ready to leave for Forks.

Her possessions were still packed in her moleskin pouch (which she carried everywhere) from her year on the run, but for appearances sake, she put some clothes into a duffel bag so Charlie wouldn't ask questions.

Hari elected to leave Ron and Hermione a letter for when they inevitably came looking for her. She didn't say where she was going, informing them that she needed a break from everything before she snapped.

She couldn't bring herself to go to The Burrow and see everyone for the first time since the battle, only to then inform them that she was once again abandoning them. They were mourning, and it was all her fault. She couldn't face Molly and Arthur, who lost their son, Ron and Ginny, who were robbed of their big brother, Bill, Charlie and Percy who would never see their rascal little brother again. The worst of all was George, who lost a part of himself along with his twin. The three of them had become almost as close as her, Ron and Hermione during their years at Hogwarts, with the students knowing to flee whenever they were seen together. They held up the Marauders' legacy, and the twins were always there to get her out of every bout of self-loathing and guilt after Sirius had died. But now, Fred was gone, and it was  _all her fault_.

Hari was lying to herself, though. She told herself that the reason she avoided The Burrow was that then, she didn't have to face their blame- their scorn. But she wasn't afraid of their blame- she was afraid of their forgiveness.

The Weasleys were the best people that she knew, and deep down she knew that they would forgive her- that they wouldn't even think to lay blame on her. Hari could never forgive herself, though, and that was her problem.

Forcefully wrenching herself from her thoughts, she grabbed her bag and turned to Kreacher. He had been incredibly helpful over the past two weeks- almost motherly, which never failed to amuse her. If Hari happened to go too long without food, the grumpy elf would quite literally drag her to the table and force her to eat- never mind that she was his mistress, not the other way around.

Looking at the elf, she was surprisingly quite disheartened to be leaving him. He had been her only company for two weeks, and she would miss his violent humour.

"I'll be off then, Kreacher. You know where to find me if anything happens." The elf let out a grunt of agreement before shuffling off to clean something. He had already threatened to come with her if he found out that she'd been skipping meals, much to her horror, as she would hate to have her Uncle Charlie find out about the magical world due to a senile, wrinkled house-elf.

Hari caught a taxi to the airport, having to stop herself from growling at the rude driver who assumed that just because he was having a bad day, he was allowed to make sure that everyone else was as well. It wasn't her fault that his wife was leaving him, and with an attitude like that, it was no wonder that she was. Getting swiftly out of the vehicle, she internally cursed herself for letting her shields slip. In their year on the run, her, Hermione and Ron had thought it wise to at least  _try_  to learn the mind arts, and the books from the Black library had helped more than Snape ever had. Surprisingly, Ron turned out to be the best of the three at occlumency, while her and Hermione leaned more towards legilimency- they both assumed that it was due to their constant thirst for knowledge, which influenced them to want to  _learn_  information rather than _conceal_  it.

While she could have taken a portkey to Seattle, (apparition would tire her out too much over that distance), she didn't want to alert anyone to her departure, and portkeys were heavily monitored these days. She doubted that her 'disappearance' would remain unknown for long, but she was content in her knowledge that nobody would find her. No-one knew about Charlie- not even Ron and Hermione, so she found it safe to assume that she could live uninterrupted for years to come.

After going through security and getting her tickets, she was finally seated on the plane. She would be here for nearly ten hours, and she was dreading it. Hari had bought some old tomes from the Black library with her in the hopes that the spells inside would distract her from her claustrophobia. Thankfully, Hari had bought a first-class ticket so she would have space to breathe, without the paranoia of being surrounded from all sides.

She had called Charlie before she boarded, letting him know that she would be there soon. He would be waiting for her at the airport in Forks with his daughter and her cousin, Bella. She had never met the girl, and was slightly anxious- if she was anything like Dudley then they were going to have a problem. Apparently, Bella had moved back in with Charlie a week ago to let her mother have time with her partner, which was admirable, Hari guessed. She hadn't known that the girl was moving in with Charlie as well, and was worried that the both of them at once would be too much for her socially awkward uncle. When she expressed these concerns, and offered to stay in England, however, Charlie had scolded her furiously. They hadn't seen each other in years, ever since he and Petunia had their wrathful argument when she was twelve. They had kept in touch, with Hari writing him at least once a week, and him even more.

Charlie was her mother and aunt's older brother, although he had been adopted by an American family as a baby due to her grandparent's age at the time. He had always kept in contact with his sisters, and between his constant visits to London and his many letters, they became quite close. That was, at least, until her mother died. After that, his relationship with Petunia became even more strained due to her avid hatred towards Lily.

Even through this, Charlie came to visit, and it was through this that Hari found out what it was like to be loved. He had become a father figure to her, and in turn, she became a second daughter to him. The Dursleys tried to keep her from contacting him between trips, but they didn't want Charlie to find out just how badly they treated her, so she (for once) got her way. That was, as long as she kept her mouth shut.

Charlie's visits ended in the summer before her second year. Things were already tense due to the whole 'Dobby' incident (that he didn't know about), and when Petunia began bad-mouthing her mother, Charlie snapped. After that night, he never came to visit again, although he did leave her his phone number for when she wanted to talk.

Now, she was off to live with him, and she had a feeling that it would do the both of them a whole world of good.

Ten hours later, Hari was tired, grumpy and eager to get away from the narrow plane walls. Getting through security was a nightmare, even though she only had one bag (she had cast a cloaking charm on her pouches long ago), and Hari couldn't wait to see her uncle for the first time in years.

Finally, she was through the gates and was looking for Charlie amidst the crowds. She was antsy at being surrounded by so many people, still used to only having Ron and Hermione in a tent for company. She didn't know where she was supposed to be meeting Charlie, so she wandered around for a bit before she, at last, spotted him.

Hari wondered how she missed him in the first place. He was in his police uniform, which had the public swerving around him to avoid upsetting the gruff officer. He had aged well, Hari noted. Though his face wasn't spared from a few wrinkles, he still looked young, and the grin that lit up his face at the sight of her made him look even younger.

Hari felt like a weight had lifted from her chest upon seeing her uncle. She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck, and they clung to each other for what felt like hours.

"Oh, Ellie, what happened?" Charlie was clearly struggling to maintain his composure. He wasn't usually a very expressive man, but when it came to the people he cared about, he made an exception. Hari chose not to answer him; if she did, she wasn't sure that she could keep from telling him the truth.

The two pulled away from their embrace and observed each other from up close.

Charlie noted how beautiful his niece had gotten, but that wasn't what worried him (although the thought of her picking up any boys made him want to squirm). She was too thin and had dark bags under her shadowed eyes. What drew his attention, however, was the long, thin gash that ran from Hari's cheekbone to the hollow of her neck. He was horrified- what had happened to his Ellie?

Hari saw where her uncle's gaze was locked on and shifted slightly. She had been hit by a stray cutting hex and had left it too long before getting it treated. Madam Pomfrey healed it, but was unable to fix the scarring. She didn't mind it too much; it was just another to add to the collection, but she hated the questions that came with it.

It was then that Hari noticed the girl by Charlie's side. She was pretty enough, with reddish brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. Hari pouted internally when she noticed that, although the girl was obviously younger than her, she was still a few inches taller. She was pale, even in comparison to Hari- an Englishwoman, which was saying something. The girl, who she assumed was her cousin, looked increasingly awkward as she watched her father and Hari's interaction, and seemed as though she wanted the ground to swallow her whole as the raven-haired teen turned to her.

"So you must be Bella. It's nice to finally meet you- although, I feel as though I already know you from the amount of times Charlie has boasted about his… what was it?" Hari looked over at her uncle cheekily, content to pretend for his sake, that everything was okay. "Ah, yes! His 'amazingly smart and beautiful baby girl'. Did I get that right, dear Uncle?" Hari felt a twinge of amusement as both father and daughter flushed a brilliant red, and she recalled a time where Ron was as quick to flush as these two were. She quickly stamped down on that thought, but not before Charlie noticed her expression falter slightly. Seeing that he was about to say something about it, she swiftly cut in, asking where the man had parked the car. He looked ready to press the matter before, thankfully, deciding to leave it for another time.

As they walked towards the parking lot, she felt two pairs of inquisitive eyes on her, and cursed herself for being so transparent. How was she going to live with the two in peace if she couldn't even control her thoughts for five minutes?

Hari didn't know. All she  _did_  know was that this was going to be a long ride to Forks.  

 


	4. Chapter Four

** Jasper **

****

****

It had been a long time since anyone in his family had felt such grief.

The second that his sister’s anguished shriek filled their home, they had all somehow known what had happened to their human. The agonising grief felt by his family had nearly crippled him, especially when added with the unbearable pain he suffered in his own heart.

Jasper never knew that he had cared so much about Harielle. Of course, he had listened intently whenever Alice had recounted her visions; in fact, he had often found himself looking forward to them, despite the many times he had warned his family- warned himself, that Harielle was human. Like all humans, she was fragile; her body was weak- her mind possibly weaker, she would age and die whilst they were left in the dust, she didn’t care about them, _she didn’t even know they existed_. Regardless, they (himself included) had all continued to care, had all continued to watch and love the girl who could never possibly do the same for them.

Then, Alice’s visions grew darker- more dangerous, and he knew, deep down that they should stop caring about the girl before they all got hurt, but her refreshing presence had banished the monotony from their lives and gave them a light that they couldn’t simply forget. So, they waited, sometimes weeks at a time for anything that could tell them she was okay- and she was, most of the time. Of course, sometimes she was a little worse-for-wear, but she was always alive and seemingly safe- until she wasn’t.

That was when he and his family truly realised how much they had come to treasure their human. It was as if she was their sole reminder of what it was like to truly _live_ , and she had stolen her way into all of their hearts without them realising the impact she could have upon them.

They had all taken a break from their dull, now seemingly colourless lives to mourn the loss of their Harielle. Carlisle had called the hospital and the school with some nonsense excuse of a family trip, and of course nobody would ever question the illustrious Cullens.

Eventually, their sorrow turned to anger, and their anger to guilt. Why hadn’t they gone to England to help her? Why hadn’t they even _tried_ to find her? Once they thought about it, the family knew that if they had made an effort to find Harielle, they could have eventually. Carlisle has contacts all over the world, and had they pressed the issue rather than just watch their human suffer, she could be alive.

But they hadn’t. They hadn’t, and now they were all feeling the pain of her absence, even though the girl was never truly there to begin with.

Jasper knew that he and his family couldn’t go on like this, however. The humans were curious about their absence and behaviours in the past weeks, and they couldn’t afford anyone prying into their lives, especially when they were already so distracted.

They needed to pick themselves up and pretend nothing was wrong. Jasper would do what he did best and try to ignore the now constant pain in his chest, all the while easing his family’s pain the best that he could.

They would get through this. He would make sure of it.

****

****

 

****

** Hari **

 

There was something about Forks that calmed Hari.

Whether it was the nature that was surrounding her, the familiar weather patterns, her uncle’s comforting presence, or a combination of all three, she didn’t know- what she did know was that she could finally breathe.

Hari had settled in nicely at the Swan household. Charlie had transformed the previously unused attic into a bedroom for her, and Hari had instantly fallen in love with it. It was rather empty compared to the rest of the house, mainly because Hari didn’t have many possessions to fill the spare spaces around the room with, nor did she have enough muggle clothes to fill the large wardrobe her uncle had somehow obtained. Though there wasn’t much in the room, for the first time in her life, Hari had a place that was actually _hers_ , and that thought somehow filled up the leftover spaces that she couldn’t.

The teen often found herself sitting beside her open bedroom window, lost in thought, simply staring into the forest that made for an extremely large backyard. It was much like the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts, except without the foreboding presence that accompanied it.

Bella had surprisingly helped her unpack her minimal possessions. It was extremely awkward, but Hari appreciated that her cousin was trying to form a relationship with her. She could tell that the girl was curious about her- she would be too, if she had a cousin that she had never met move in with her father, who was visibly skittish and had scars like Hari’s on her face (and who knows where else). The witch would have (and had) started a full-on investigation over less.

Luckily, Bella had never acknowledged her curiosity, which Hari was thankful for- granted, it was mostly out of respect for Charlie and his obvious love for her, but Hari appreciated it nonetheless.

 

Hari was currently cursing said uncle’s love for her, as well as her own big mouth.

Charlie had been practically skipping around the house since she had gotten there the previous night, and she could tell that the combined excitement from both her and Bella coming to live with him wouldn’t abate any time soon. She knew that he was going to try his hardest to be the parent that both girls admittedly needed, and it was this that led her to her current predicament.

She supposed that it was partly her fault, as well. After all, if she hadn’t accidentally let slip that she had missed her last year of schooling, she wouldn’t be facing a righteous papa-bear.

The man was presently calling up administration at the Forks High school in the hopes that he could get her enrolled by Monday. For all Hari’s assurances that she was fine to get a job and skip school entirely, Charlie wouldn’t have it. While she was secretly glad that someone cared enough to make a fuss over something as little as this for her, she definitely could have done without it.

She had kept up her muggle education during her summers at the Dursley’s, and often occupied the library until closing time (anything to get out of the house and away from her aunt and uncle’s wrath, not to mention her not-so-baby-whale of a cousin). Despite this, she felt that it wouldn’t be enough to hold up in an actual classroom setting- in her senior year, no less; never mind that she hadn’t been to a non-magical school since she was eleven.

What most worried Hari about the prospect of school was the people- _teenagers._ She came to Forks to get away from the stares (which, a small town like this wasn’t the wisest choice of residence), and being the second new student in only two weeks would be rather counter-productive. In her experience, teenagers were nasty, immature, emotional and tremendously averse to anything they saw as ‘strange’- and let’s face it, Hari would most likely be the strangest person they’d seen yet. Let it not be said that she herself was a teenager and was also susceptible to bouts of emotional instability and immaturity (simply ask any of her teachers, they would be quite happy to rant about her and her friends’ shenanigans and pranks).

Bella had offered to show her around, but Hari had refused, knowing that it would be painfully awkward for the both of them. Besides, the witch would be in a different year level than her cousin, so they wouldn’t see much of each other at school.

Charlie hung up the phone with a grin of success. He had organised Harielle’s enrolment, and as of Monday, she would be a senior at Forks High school. The raven-haired teen had to withhold a groan as Charlie left the room to get his keys and go get her books and other necessities. There was no way that she could get out of it. She had seen the glint in her uncle’s eyes many times in her own, and knew that there would be no swaying his stubbornness. All she could do now was go along with it. _‘Who knows, maybe it’s just enough to distract me from everything_ ’, she told herself, although she wasn’t convinced. She knew that going to school again just wouldn’t be the same without her friends. There would be no berating Ron for leaving his homework to the last minute (and consequently forging his writing and doing it for him), there would be no sneaking into the library with Hermione at all hours of the night in search of the book that they _just had to have_ , no pranks with the twins, no quidditch, no midnight walks through the forbidden forest with Luna- the _magic_ would be gone, and there would be _nothing._

She snapped out of her thoughts, her hands shaking slightly. It wouldn’t do to be thinking about that. She forcefully pushed all of the unsolicited thoughts and memories behind a wall in her mind, and prayed to any God that may be out there to keep them away from her. She couldn’t handle them- at least not yet.

Feeling a hand on her arm, Hari turned instinctually and grabbed the offending person’s wrist harshly, taking up a defensive stance. She heard a startled gasp, and finally focused her thoughts, finding herself staring into her cousin’s slightly pained face. Inhaling sharply, she practically shoved Bella’s wrist away and stumbled into the back of the couch.

“I-I’m so sorry… I… p-please, forgive me… I’m just a bit jumpy. I’m so… _so_ sorry.” Hari could feel herself panicking. What was she thinking, coming here? She would just end up hurting more people that she cared about. She was like a living poison, slowly killing everyone around her.

She couldn’t stay here. 

Muggles were so fragile compared to those with magic, and with how she was now, her uncle and cousin would only end up hurt or dead. She readied herself to run up the stairs and pack her bags once more, but as she went to take the first step, Bella stopped her.

“Wait! It’s okay, really. I shouldn’t have startled you like that. I just wanted to see if you were okay… you seemed really sad for a moment there.” Hari simply looked at the girl’s red wrist, hoping to Merlin that it wouldn’t bruise and cause Bella even more pain. The brown-haired girl hid her wrist from Hari’s view in the hopes that if she couldn’t see it, she would calm down, though she was unsuccessful.

“It’s not.” Bella looked at Hari confusedly, waiting for her to elaborate. “It’s not okay. You have no idea how badly I could have hurt you just then. No idea… I shouldn’t have come here. It was a mistake. I… I need to leave. I won’t bother you anymore.” Before Bella could say anything, Hari had already bolted up the stairs and through the door that led to the attic. She followed her older cousin in a panic, rushing through the door after her.

“Wait! You can’t just leave!” Hari said nothing, instead continuing to pack her meagre possessions into her duffel bag.

“Look, I may not know you, I don’t know what happened to you or why you’re here, of all places, but I _do_ know that this is the happiest that I’ve ever seen my father and I don’t want you to ruin that by leaving.” The witch slowed in her packing, her head hanging slightly as she shook violently.

“You don’t understand. Everything, everyone I care about _dies_ , and… and I won’t let that happen to either of you.”

“So, what? You’re just going to run away? We can take care of ourselves, just like we always have. But if you run, Charlie won’t ever be the same, and deep down, you _know_ that.” Hari shook her head shakily, her eyes glazed over with unshed tears.

“He might be sad for a while, but at least he’ll be safe.”

“That’s a lie and you know it. You’re not afraid for us, you’re just scared that you might have to face whatever feelings you’re hiding from.” Bella didn’t know where her sudden boldness was coming from, but she knew that it was what she needed to snap her cousin out of the state she was in. Said cousin looked at Bella in shock as the jumper she was holding fell to the ground from her slackened hands.

“You’re wrong.”

“Maybe, I don’t know what happened, but I do know that running away won’t help you. Just… stay for a month. Just a month, and then you can leave if you still want to. Please just give us a chance to help you. Please, if not for me, then for Charlie.” Bella paused, her face turning bright red as she lost the confidence she had built up. “Just think about it… please.” With that, she walked back downstairs, leaving a despondent witch behind her.

Hari stayed in her room for the rest of the day, simply thinking.

She wanted to leave so badly. She was putting her only family in danger simply by being here- but Bella was right. She was being a coward, something she had never seen herself as. Hari didn’t want to open herself up to the vulnerability of her emotions- didn’t want to have someone care, only to have them ripped away from her in the cruellest ways imaginable. Mostly, she didn’t want to hurt them, which she knew that she could- even unknowingly. Her instincts were so heightened after all of the fighting and terror, and the witch could snap without knowing and harm them.

But did she really want to leave? Run again? She had spent the last year running, and she was sick of it. Could one month really do that much damage? She didn’t know- what she did know was that she didn’t want to run again.

She would stay, but if she even got close to hurting Bella or Charlie again, she would be gone before anyone (including herself) could convince her to stay.

 

 

The students at Forks High school were curious.

Ever since the Cullens had come back from their week long break a couple of weeks ago, they had been acting stranger than usual. Edward, if ever spoken to, was more snappish and rude than before, Alice seemed infinitely less chipper than usual, Jasper more withdrawn, Emmett was less boisterous, and if anyone even _looked_ at Rosalie, they were sure to get a glare that would leave them near shaking for hours.

Nobody was quite sure what had happened to make the family act this way, but that only increased the rumours and speculation. Half of the school thought that maybe Edward had come out as gay, whilst the other was quite certain that Rosalie and Edward were found to be ‘together’ behind their family’s back- after all, they weren’t _actually_ siblings.

They were all quite far off from the truth, of course, but they would never know the real reason behind the family’s despondency.

The stories became even more rampant once Isabella Swan came to Forks, and Edward left the very same day, not having been seen since. By now, the entire school had heard about the tenseness of their biology class, and everyone was curious about what the cause was.

That, though, was old news. Jenny at the school office had told her best friend Miranda about the rush enrolment of none other than Charlie Swan’s niece at Forks High. Naturally, Miranda had told her brother, Adam, who told his wife, who told their neighbour, whose daughter, Jessica, had overheard, and obviously now the entire school knew, and was interested to find out who the girl was. Apparently, she was an adopted Indian actress who was staying with Charlie because her parents had gone to prison for drug smuggling. There were already debates about who would go up and talk to her first, with most deciding that the safest way to find out about her was to either wait for the gossip, or to go up to Bella and ask her, considering they already ‘knew’ her.

Even the Cullen family wasn’t spared from interest over the new girl- after all, she was related to their brother’s singer, and they were all cautious to find out if her cousin was as tempting as Isabella was. If she was, they were in for deep trouble. Edward was due back that Sunday, and they didn’t know if he would be able to restrain himself this time, even without an added temptation.

What was even more worrying, was Alice’s obliviousness about the new student.

She usually foresaw changes such as these, and what with recent events, they were all on edge. Whether she was just too distracted by her grief that she had somehow unconsciously blocked the vision, or there just wasn’t one to begin with, she didn’t know. The family had to be alert, either way. They couldn’t afford any more losses in their family- their hearts couldn’t take it.

They would all look after each other when needed, and treat everything (and everyone) with appropriate caution. Though none of the family spoke of it, they felt that a change was in the works- for better or worse, they were unsure. They would just need to be ready for it when it came.

 

In the coming weeks, they would all agree that the change that came was the one they least expected.


	5. Chapter Five

** Hari **

****

_She was running through the forest with Luna again._

_Hari had always loved their midnight ventures- the feeling of freedom as the wind brushed through her hair, no shoes, no fears, and no worries._

_The moon was bright that night, its rays flickering across their faces as they rushed through the trees, an image so serene that it was almost unreal. Luna laughed, then, and it was such a pure sound that lifted her spirits until she, too, let out a peal of delight._

_The scene changed._

_Their laughter disappeared._

_Luna seemed to flicker and vanish. Hari was alone._

_A shuddering gasp…_

_What?_

_A muffled sob…_

_Why… why was she running?_

_The slicing of flesh…_

_No. NO! She didn’t like that. Stop… STOP!_

_An agonised scream…_

_“Baby Potter’s awake… and here I thought that I broke you…”_

_W-what? No… why did it hurt? Oh God help, please…_

_“I’d say I’ll get a bite or two…”_

_Nononono please, no… it was over… please not again…_

_“Funny, isn’t it, Baby Potter… how the mudblood bleeds the same colour as the rest of us… Would you like to see?”_

_No, please! Not her… never her…_

_The slash of a blade…_

_A tortured shriek…_

_The mad cackle…_

_The angered shouts…_

_Then, silence._

_What happened? Why… why couldn’t she move?_

_“Harielle Potter.” The silken words brushed across her like a lingering torment._

_A flash of green…_

_A moment of panic…_

_Then nothing._

Emerald eyes tore open viciously as the girl dove to the floor in a dazed terror.

Clutching the wand and dagger she kept under her pillow, Hari surveyed the room for any traces of a threat, ready to kill anyone that would dare try and harm her or her two friends. Glancing around her room, however, it slowly came back to her where she actually was.

She was not in a tent- nor was she near said two friends. She was as safe as she let herself feel.

Slumping against the side of her bed exhaustedly, Hari put her knife back under her pillow and her wand into its wrist holster. She stared out into the forest, not even bothering to check the time. She knew it was still too early to be awake (by normal standards, at least), but she would rather have tea with the toad than go back to sleep now.

So, she simply stared out into the trees as the sun rose, a majority of its light blocked by the dark clouds harbouring the sky. It was raining, a fact that Hari was thankful for. The teen loved the rain, often finding solace in the way that it could seemingly wash away all of her problems, leaving her with a sense of peace for as long as the drops hit her face.

She would start school today, and Hari could tell that it was going to be horrible. She would be gawked at, interrogated and would be forced to put up with incessant babbling that she couldn’t care less about.

They will say; ‘Oh, _my_ God. You’re British!’, and, ‘What’s wrong with your face?’, not to mention the god-awful rumours that would no doubt spread like a wildfire in a small town like this. She would have no choice but to smile and nod, tactfully change the topic and put up with all the small-talk under the sun- she owed it to Charlie. Hari knew that it would have to be hard on the man to take in two teenage girls after having lived alone for so long. Not only would it affect his bank account (and no matter how many times she protested, he still wouldn’t take any money for her), but for such an awkward being that her uncle was, he would surely be at a loss on how to act. It was the least she could do to act like a normal girl, and not embarrass herself and, by extension, Charlie and Bella.

Startled from her thoughts by a knock on her door, the witch jumped to her feet and rushed to open it. She was met with Charlie, already in his uniform and ready to start his day.

“Hey, Ellie. I was just making sure you were up. How’d you sleep?” Hari hesitated for only a fraction of a second before answering with a smile.

“I slept just fine, Charlie. Are you off to work, then?” Charlie frowned at the teen, obviously having seen her brief falter- not to mention her still pale face and dark circles under her eyes. He had held off from saying anything to her for the past few days, not wanting to upset her, but he was worried. This wasn’t his niece. His niece was cheeky, enthusiastic- _alive_ ; not this shell of a girl trying to pretend that she was okay.

He put a hand on her small shoulder, ignoring the way she tensed at his touch.

“Ellie… you know you can talk to me, right? I may be a grumpy old man, but I can see when you’re hurting.” Seeing that she was beginning to close off again, he tried to change the topic, he sighed slightly, removing his hand. “I’ve gotten your school books, they’ll be on the kitchen table along with a bag. I didn’t know which one to get, but hopefully it’s okay. Just… try to have a good day, Ellie. I really think this’ll be good for you.”

Hari, now feeling like an absolute cow, reached up and hugged the man with everything she had, wordlessly thanking him for all that he was doing for her. Understanding, Charlie clutched her tightly. He had missed her so much over the years, and he had been ready to fly over to England when she hadn’t mailed him for over months at a time last year. Seeing her now, so downtrodden- so _broken,_ had him hopelessly questioning what in the world had happened. Did it have to do with all of the terror attacks in London (and if he hadn’t sprouted some greys over that, he’d be lying)? Was his Ellie involved in all of that? Of course, he would never ask her. Charlie wasn’t stupid- despite being desperately useless in social situations, he knew where the boundaries were. All he could do was be there when she was ready to talk, if that time ever came.

Bella watched the scene with a small twinge of jealousy. She knew that she and her father had never been as close as they could have been, had they not have both been cursed with the Swan family awkwardness. She would not let this get to her, however. Bella knew that her cousin needed her father- and vice versa, and she wasn’t idiotic enough to make problems where they were unneeded. Who knew- maybe staying with her father could bring them closer, as well, if she made more of an effort. With that final thought, she slipped into the bathroom to prepare whatever scolding she would give Edward Cullen if he decided to show today (not that she would ever go through with such a confrontation, but it made her feel a little better either way).

Breaking her hug with Charlie, Hari smiled a little- a real smile, she noted with shock. When had she last actually smiled like that, even if it was small?

Rather than saying anything and ruining their meagre progress made, Hari kept her smile up and made to close her door again (it wouldn’t do to show up at school in her pyjamas). Charlie grinned in a way that seemed to light up the hallway and practically danced down the stairs, chuckling slightly.

The witch was then hit with one of the most horrifying realisations known to a teenage girl.

She had nothing to wear.

It was her first day of school, and _she had nothing to wear._

The next twenty minutes was filled with clothes being haphazardly thrown about the room as they were discarded as ‘too depressing’ or ‘seriously slobby’.

Eventually, she just decided on black jeans, a plain top and Sirius’ old leather jacket (which was what she wore basically every day, and she found herself wondering why she fussed so much). Of course, she didn’t forget her fingerless gloves which, although she hated wearing, were a necessity, because she didn’t want anyone seeing the evidence of Umbridge’s detentions forever engraved upon her hands. That would lead to questions she didn’t need. It was strange to not have to wear a uniform, though she was extremely grateful that Hogwarts had one, rather than her having to wear Dudley’s hand-me-downs every day.

She made her way into the kitchen to see Bella making some toast, and was surprised when the girl handed the plate to her.

“Oh, um, thanks! Isn’t this yours, though?” Bella smiled somewhat shyly at her cousin, who tilted her head curiously as she took the plate from her, eating it swiftly. She had barely eaten dinner last night, and unless she wanted Kreacher to pop in and scold her, she needed to eat something.

“No, uh, I already ate. So, are you okay to ride with me to school? It’s not very far, and I can show you to the office if you’d like.”

“That’d be great, thanks!” Hari paused for a moment, slightly nervous. “How… uh, how bad will they be? The students, I mean… they won’t eat me or anything, will they? It doesn’t seem like a very good way to go.”  She said this almost hesitantly, but Bella could see the faintest twinkle of mirth in her eyes, so small that she thought she had imagined it. When her cousin’s words finally sunk in, Bella let out a snort before blushing heavily at the noise she made. The image of Eric, in all of his excitement trying to maul her to death, came to mind and she let out a snicker.

“I um, I don’t think they’ll try to consume you, so you’re pretty safe in that regard. Although, maybe watch out for Lauren, I wouldn’t put it past her to have a nibble.” Once her words registered in her mind, Bella turned, if possible, even more red as she covered her mouth, horrified. Did she really just say that? Oh god, she did. Wow.

Hari raised her eyebrow, amused, and decided to ease the girl’s embarrassment.

“Well at least that’s something to look forward to. Should we go?” Bella nodded in relief, glad that the conversation was over- she had humiliated herself enough for one morning. Hari, however, was glad that they had manage to ease some of the awkward tension that hung between them- if only slightly. Grabbing the nearly overflowing brown bookbag Charlie had gotten her, she followed her out the door, nodding in thanks for her holding it open as she passed. It was practically pouring rain outside, and both girls pulled their jackets closer to shield them from the early morning cold that settled over them. Some of the puddles had even frozen over, and Hari was anxious about being in a car on such slippery roads- especially since she didn’t know what kind of driver Bella was.

She was surprised to see Charlie drive in with Bella’s truck, having thought that he’d gone to work already. Walking down the frosty steps, Hari instinctively caught Bella by the elbows when she slipped over. It seemed that she would have to look out for this one.

“T-thanks. Ice doesn’t seem to help the uncoordinated.” Making sure the girl was stable, she raised her eyebrow one more.

“Apparently.” Charlie was quick to rush over and check on his daughter, shaking his head slightly.

“I put some new tyres on the truck, Bells. Hopefully it’ll stop it from slipping as much as you seem to do. The others were nearly bald.” Bella seemed strangely touched by the gesture, thanking him enthusiastically.

“I’ll be late for dinner, girls. I’ve got to head down to Mason County. A security guard at the Grisham Mill got killed by some animal.” Charlie looked at the two apologetically, slightly upset that he would be late to hear about Hari’s first day. The girl in question had her mind on other matters, however.

“An… animal? I wouldn’t think that some wild beast would happen to wander into a mill, of all places. Strange.” She told herself to stay out of it, to simmer down. She was taking Moody’s advice too close to heart, even though it had saved her life many times before.

Constant vigilance indeed.

“Well, it’s not the city anymore, Ellie. These things happen. Anyway, it’s been in the area for about a week now, so I thought I’d lend a hand.” Hari looked at her uncle sternly.

“You had better be careful Charlie Swan- otherwise you’ll have me to deal with.” Charlie chuckled slightly and held his hands up in surrender, before leaving with a nod of goodbye to each of them.

Bella and Hari left soon after in a mostly comfortable silence, both lost in their thoughts on the day to come.

 

 

Hari didn’t know how she felt about Forks High School.

With her previous school being a castle, the small collection of matching (were those houses?) buildings seemed rather lacklustre. It all looked so… dull, lifeless. She should have expected it, though. You can’t easily top having a castle for a school. Still, it just looked so small- even compared with what she remembered from primary school. She wouldn’t complain, though- at least she didn’t have to climb a ridiculous number of stairs to get to her classes.

Bella dropped her at the office then left to park the car, wishing her a nice day in case she didn’t see her again before classes started. Entering the small building, Hari had to blink from how brightly lit it was, and she absently noted that she would miss classes-by-candlelight.

Walking straight up to the desk and to the only person in the cramped room, she awkwardly cleared her throat, standing stiffly and waiting to be acknowledged.

The rather plump red-haired secretary looked up, and Hari was instantly reminded of Christmas jumpers, laughter and a lingering warmth that she always associated with the Weasley matriarch. Shutting those thoughts away, she once again focused, only to see the woman looking at her, concerned. Hari composed herself before looking up at the woman blankly.

“I’m Harielle Potter. My uncle called on the weekend about my enrolment?”

“Of course! I should have known. Was that an accent I heard? You’ve certainly come a long way, haven’t you?” Hari nodded with a tight smile, wanting this to be over already. “Well, I’ve got your schedule right here, as well as a map of the school.” She handed the teen several sheets of paper, taking the time to highlight the best ways to get to her classes. Before Hari (finally) left, the woman gave her a slip that needed to be signed and brought back at the end of the day. Wishing her a good first day, the woman waved the teen out before rushing to call her sister with the new gossip as soon as the coast was clear.

Hari looked down at her map, quickly committing it to her memory- she didn’t want to have her head in a sheet of paper all day. Taking what seemed like the quickest route, she headed to her first class of the day.

As she walked through a more populated part of the school, she could feel the curious stares burning into her back- hear the whispers start up. Keeping her head down, her hair shielding her face as she tried to slow her rapid heart rate, she rushed into ‘Building 3’ just as the bell went, hoping to Merlin that it was the right one.

Thankfully, it was.

Walking to one of the doors, she opened it, only to be faced with an already full classroom and a male teacher that most certainly _wasn’t_ ‘Miss Payne’. Quickly apologising, she spotted Bella in the back row looking worried for her- apparently, she looked as good as she felt.

“I’m sorry, sir. I was just looking for Miss Payne’s classroom. I seem to have made a mistake, excuse me.” As soon as she spoke, the class quieted in surprise before whispering excitedly to one another. The teacher wasn’t much better, practically stuttering in his enthusiasm that the class she wanted was across the hall. Briskly thanking the man, she strode across the hall in a huff. It was like her first year all over again.

Stopping to compose herself, Hari opened the (hopefully correct) door and surveyed the room warily. It was already full of students who were apparently all too eager to start their day, if the noise level was anything to go by. The silence as soon as she walked in, though, was deafening.

She silently stepped up to the young blonde teacher and cleared her throat. She was taken aback, a little, at having such a young teacher. Hari was used to her professors ranging from near forty to well into their hundreds (give or take a few years). But no, Miss Payne seemed barely older than Hari herself, and was clearly attracting some appreciative stares from the more obvious students in the class. The teen somewhat pitied the blonde- if she had to deal with that as well as teaching all day, she would go mad.

“Excuse me ma’am, are you Miss Payne?” The woman visibly brightened upon seeing Hari, grabbing the paper from her outstretched hand.

“Yes, yes, you’ve come to the right place! Welcome to English. You must be Harielle.” Hari nodded and shook her hand tensely, wanting to just sit down and be done with it. “Good! Now, how about you introduce yourself- we’d all love to hear about you!” Hari let out a string of harsh expletives in her mind, praying to anyone who was listening that she wouldn’t have to go through this with every class. She steeled herself before facing the class, who, even by now were still openly gawking at her, spiking her temper slightly. Why would they not stop staring?

“Ahem, well, I’m Harielle, but please, just Hari is fine. In case you failed to notice- yes, I’m British, please note it and move on. I like smooth jazz, long walks on the beach, and unlike most, actually care about the oxford comma. Anyway, it’s nice to meet you all. Can I sit down now?” The last part was directed at Miss Payne who, like the rest of the class, was openly gaping at her. Hari felt a sort of smug satisfaction run through her. If they thought that she was going to stutter her way through a measly introduction, they had another thing coming.

“Well, uh, yes- there’s a seat at the back of the classroom on the left. And, on behalf of all of us, I’d like to welcome you to Forks High.” Hari nodded in thanks, glad that it was in the back so she wouldn’t have to worry about anyone being behind her. She felt the eyes burning into her as she walked past, bet kept her head held high. She wasn’t to be cowed by their stares, and they would soon realise it.

This bravado faded slightly when Hari remembered that this was only her first class.

Of her first day.

In the entire year.

She was lucky enough to not have to sit next to anyone in this class, but what about next? What if they tried to force their friendship upon her? Hari knew that she most likely wouldn’t respond well to that- she got her mother’s attitude, she’d heard. Yet, wasn’t it her goal to fit in? Of course, she could never truly fit in, but it was a nice sentiment.

Hari stayed lost in thought for the remainder of the class, absentmindedly taking notes in her neat cursive, marvelling at how long it had been since she had used anything other than a quill to write with. She was jolted out of her mind by the shrill bell, and was out of the door before anyone had the chance to try and speak to her. The witch’s steps faltered slightly when she felt the snow on her skin. Unlike the rain, Hari _hated_ snow. She hated the memories it brought forth- of lonely Christmases when she feared the day she faced before she was allowed back inside, of snowball fights and laughter that she cursed, knowing she would never hear that innocent sound again. Shaking her head slightly, the black-haired teen fastened her steps to whatever building her maths class was in, glaring harshly at anyone who even thought about pelting a snowball in her vicinity. Naturally, this attitude drew even more whispers from the students, about how she was ‘frostier than the ice-queen’, or how they would gladly ‘do her’. Not happening.

Her next class started almost the same as the last- sarcastic introduction and a thankfully empty table at the back of the class. Of course, she should have known that her luck would run out- she wouldn’t be Hari if it didn’t.

She had only been at her desk for ten minutes, and she was already bored out of her mind. This was too similar to Arithmancy, and she had learned most of these equations back in her fourth year. So, she was simply sitting with her head on her desk, waiting eagerly for the bell to ring so she could get herself some juice for lunch. Completely ignoring the door opening paired with a muttered apology to Mr Graves Hari kept her head on her desk, wishing she was anywhere but at school. That was, until someone sat next to her. Stiffening up entirely, she kept her head down, peeking through her hair stealthily at whoever was next to her.

The witch wasn’t expecting to see some sort of supermodel practically sneering at her, as if she was a speck of mud on her thousand-dollar shoes. Feeling her indignation rise (because she hadn’t even _met_ the girl and she was looking at her like that), Hari raised her head, ready to scold the girl viciously. That was, until said female saw her face and started looking at Hari like she’d turned into Voldemort and was asking for financial advice.

“H-Harielle?”

Hari’s blood ran cold as she started assessing everything she could about the female, knowing that her life could be on the line here.

She didn’t like what she saw.

Golden hair- too golden to be normal, soft curls, no split ends, not a hair out of place; pale skin- again, too white to be considered ordinary, no pimples, blemishes- hell, there wasn’t even a freckle. It was the eyes that gave Hari the chills, however.

They were gold.

The witch tensed herself even more, if possible, ready to defend herself and the muggles if necessary. Throwing up a silent, but no less effective _muffliato_ , she turned harshly to the vampire next to her.

“Who are you, and _how the hell did you find me?_ ”

 

 

 

 


End file.
